A literature class, "Basic Poetics," taught by Allen Ginsberg at The Naropa Institute May 29, 1980. Ginsberg spends the majority of the class fielding questions from the class and discussing the practice of writing with regards to his own work and the work of his peers. Ginsberg ends the class by singing sections of Blake's "The Songs Of Innocence and of Experience." This is class 33 of 33.


This audio is part of the collection: Naropa Poetics Audio Archives
It also belongs to collection: Audio Books & Poetry

Artist/Composer: Ginsberg, Allen
Date: 1980-05-29

Creative Commons license: Attribution-NoDerivs-NonCommercial

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Reviewer: Blank - - October 19, 2007
Subject: Method / Smart / Blake
The first 25 minutes of this class for a nice complement to his Improvised Poetics part 1 July 1988 (July 14, 1988). Like that class, it discusses the discipline/yoga of sticking to one theme and riffing on it intensely.

0: On Neal's Ashes, midnight writing trances
8: What is the point of teaching ancient forms?
11: AG sings a raga accompanied on harmonium
18:54: Working in absorption states "enter your own imagination and manifest it" - "must have a fixed theme."
26: Poets who manage household economies / sourpuss sh*ts
29: Christopher Smart "a Song to David"
43: Q & A about mental vomit vs. themed writing/ resentment & poetry
54: Reads from the Book of Thel by Blake
1:24: Sings Blake